Author: asiwentwalking

Colorado SpringsColoradoJune  2018 The world’s largest beetle. The world’s largest beetle is bigger than your pancreas.  That is a very large beetle, an Oh-My-God! sized critter.  It’s called Titanus giganteus, or the Titan beetle.  I’ve been told that the Titan beetle is strong enough to snap a pencil (why it would do that is still… Continue reading The World’s Largest Beetle

Loyalsock TrailPennsylvaniaSeptember  1998 The car breaks down outside of Williamsport, an hour shy of our destination, trailhead for the Loyalsock Trail.  Turns out we need a new transmission.  Yikes!  We make a few calls and rescue comes. Car secured on the truck bed, we jump into the cab for the ride to the car dealer. … Continue reading Home Improvement

OklahomaMarch  2013 The name Oklahoma comes from two Choctaw words.  Okla, means “man” or “people,” and humma means “red.”  Therefore Oklahoma translates to “Land of the Red People” or “Land of the Red Man.”  Some sources explain that Oklahoma or Oka-oma means “mobile home destroyed by tornado,” but this is unverified. It makes sense to… Continue reading OK, the Sooner State

West VirginiaJuly  2011 Route US-19 South, on our way to Mount Rogers, the highest point in Virginia.  We behold an amazing assortment of “roadside attractions,” including the nearly ubiquitous sets of three crosses alongside the highway.  We don’t count how many we see on this trip, but there are easily more than the number of… Continue reading Those Crosses

BlairsvilleGeorgiaNovember  2012 There was a woman some years ago in Arizona.  Her name was, and is, Randi.  According to a source to be named later, Randi was a thirteenth generation armadillo farmer.  Did you get that?  That’s a lot of family and that’s a lot of armadillo. For thirteen generations, Randi’s family ran the armadillo… Continue reading What’s the Dilly Yo

Driskill MountainLouisianaJune  2012 Kill.  Probably not what you think. The suffix kill, as in Driskill, is a Native American word with a less gruesome translation than the English meaning.  Kill means “creek.”  It is a name popular in eastern Pennsylvania and New York state, with names such as Schuylkill, Bushkill, Cobleskill, Peekskill, Wallkill and many… Continue reading Kill

DarlingtonPennsylvaniaFebruary  2021 This is one big son of a bitch.  Standing 18 feet tall, Zuverman is the fantasy embodiment of Bob Zuver, a Southern California Muscle Beach bodybuilder. There was a six-foot Zuverman statue but it just didn’t cut it.  Mr Zuver saw himself as a much larger presence.  He started preparations for a 50-foot… Continue reading Zuverman

Boyce Mayview ParkUpper Saint ClairJanuary  2016 Minding our own business, taking a comfortable day hike on the snow-covered trails, we are still remarking to each other about the wonder of the owl.  Specifically the barred owl that seems to have taken up in the crook of that sycamore tree.  I believe that it was dozing… Continue reading Owl and Deer